By Jhoo Dong-chanFinancial authorities said they will actively use artificial intelligence (AI) to prevent possible financial crimes.Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) Governor Yoon Suk-heon said the agency has developed an AI app to prevent financial crimes utilizing voice phishing methods jointly with Industrial Bank of Korea (IBK) and the National Information Society Agency (NIA) since November.During the introduction event, Friday, the FSS displayed how the AI app analyzes phone call conversations to detect possible voice phishing methods. It, then, automatically sounds an alarm or vibrates when detecting any fraudulent activities."The AI algorithm and app will be a game changer in the agency's war against financial crimes," Yoon said during the event on the day at the agency's headquarters on Yeouido in Seoul."Voice phishing and fraudulent text message methods will be increasingly sophisticated along with technology advancement. In order to protect the nation's financial customers, the FSS will continuously cooperate with the private sector to prevent such crimes."Major commercial bank CEOs, including IBK CEO Kim Do-jin and KB Kookmin Bank CEO Hur Yin, participated in the event on the day."We will regularly upgrade the AI app to help reduce customers' damages from voice phishing," Kim said.The FSS said it handed over the AI app to the nation's three IT security firms during the event."This will also boost future technology cooperation with financial security firms," Hur said. "The bank will actively look for other opportunities with these firms to provide more secure and convenient services for our customers."The voice phishing AI app will be test-operated via IBK's banking service for two or three months from April 16. The FSS said the app will be introduced to all financial customers after complementing its possible shortcomings.The algorithm used in the AI app will also be available freely to fintech and IT firms so they can introduce their own app version to protect their financial customers.